Feminism & Violence Coexist in Artemisia Gentileschi's Judith

For example, Christofano Allori’s Judith with the Head of Holofernes features Judith standing with a sword in her right hand and Holofernes’s head in her left. Given the context of the story, we know what she has done, but the way she is presented barely indicates this. Her clothes are vibrant and flawless, not a speck of blood to be seen. She is poised and calm with little emotion on her face. The sword she holds is almost completely out of frame, leaving only the hint of a delicate hilt in her hand. This Judith is bright against a bleak background, a symbol of grace and purity, a portrait of what society thought strong women should be: Flawless; strong, but only in theory; and forever passive.

This is in direct contrast to Gentileschi’s decision to depict Judith as an active agent, in the midst of a physical struggle.

With her left hand, Judith firmly grips Holofernes’s hair as she slashes the sword across his throat, imposing her own physicality. Her maid holds Holofernes down, limiting his ability to fight back. Both Judith and her maid’s sleeves are rolled up; they’re here to get the job done.

Additionally, Holofernes is not a stagnant decapitated head on a platter or in a basket, nor is he deep in his drunken slumber. Holofernes is awake. His eyes are wide as he struggles against Judith and her maid with one arm raised. Blood sprays from Holofernes’s neck, running in deep rivulets down the mattress and lightly speckling Judith’s yellow gown and chest.

Gentileschi gave Judith a sense of true agency. She did not separate Judith from the blatant aggression of her actions like so many other artists. In doing so, Gentileschi made something that we would now describe as feminist. Not because it is a painting of two women killing a man, but because Judith, and even her maid, have not been clinically separated from the ferocity of their heroism.

In this instance, the connection between violence and feminism is an essential one. While Judith herself is a powerful character, depictions of her are not inherently feminist, and censoring or brushing aside her act of decapitation only serves to take her power away. Gentileschi understood the importance of showing Judith exacting her plan. Even though Gentileschi may not have intended Judith Slaying Holofernes to be a feminist piece in the modern sense, it has certainly become one for many contemporary viewers. Perhaps most importantly, this piece is unapologetically visceral but not overly so, its violence is empowering without being exploitative.